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Department of Education: Full Costs and Savings Estimate Needed for Reduction-in-Force and Restructuring of the Office for Civil Rights
GAO-26-108320
Feb 02, 2026
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Education The Secretary of Education should estimate the full costs and savings associated with the Reduction-in-Force and reorganization actions it initiated in March 2025 and document its analysis. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Older Workers: Department of Labor Should Help State and Local Partners Share Promising Practices
GAO-26-107439
Jan 29, 2026
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Labor The Secretary of Labor should ensure that the Employment and Training Administration, in coordination with Education's Rehabilitation Services Administration, facilitates information sharing among state and local partners on promising practices both to address the employment needs of older workers and to increase their awareness of job center services. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Nuclear Enterprise: Clearer Guidance Could Improve Joint Professional Military Education Nuclear Deterrence Curriculum
GAO-25-107416
Sep 18, 2025
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3 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff updates the guidance on enduring and periodic special areas of emphasis to explicitly define nuclear deterrence to aid all intermediate- and senior-level JPME programs' development of JPME curricula with nuclear deterrence content. (Recommendation 1)
Open
DOD partially concurred with this recommendation. DOD concurred that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff should update the JPME guidance for enduring special areas of emphasis to define nuclear deterrence. However, DOD did not concur with the aspect of this recommendation related to updating the JPME guidance for periodic special areas of emphasis, noting that periodic special areas of emphasis are subject to a 2-year time-frame restriction. We continue to believe that the recommendation to update the JPME guidance for periodic special areas of emphasis is valid, because this will allow JPME programs to more effectively develop curricula to meet requirements if additional nuclear deterrence-related periodic special areas of emphasis are identified in the future. We will monitor DOD's efforts to fully address this recommendation.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff updates the guidance on enduring and periodic special areas of emphasis to require all intermediate- and senior-level JPME programs to incorporate the definition of nuclear deterrence into relevant JPME curricula. (Recommendation 2)
Open
DOD partially concurred with this recommendation. DOD concurred that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff should require all intermediate- and senior-level JPME programs to incorporate the definition of nuclear deterrence into relevant JPME curricula for enduring special areas of emphasis. However, DOD did not concur with the aspect of this recommendation related to updating the JPME guidance for periodic special areas of emphasis, noting that periodic special areas of emphasis are subject to a 2-year time-frame restriction. We continue to believe that the recommendation to update the JPME guidance to incorporate the definition of nuclear deterrence for periodic special areas of emphasis is valid, because this will allow JPME programs to more effectively develop curricula to meet requirements if additional nuclear deterrence-related periodic special areas of emphasis are identified in the future. We will monitor DOD's efforts to fully address this recommendation.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff sets a specific time frame for implementation—including for conditional and full certification—of the outcomes-based military education system by all intermediate- and senior-level JPME programs. (Recommendation 3)
Open
DOD partially concurred with this recommendation. DOD concurred that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff should set a specific time frame for implementation of the outcomes-based military education system. However, DOD did not concur with the aspect of the recommendation related to a connection between setting a specific implementation time frame for the certification of JPME programs and nuclear deterrence learning outcomes. We recognize that DOD is taking actions to update JPME guidance to set a time frame for certification of all intermediate- and senior-level JPME programs, and when we confirm what actions DOD has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Department of Education: Gaps in Federal Student Aid Contract Oversight and System Testing Need Immediate Attention
GAO-25-107396
Sep 09, 2025
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7 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Education The Secretary of Education should direct the Chief Operating Officer of FSA to take steps to improve its contract monitoring process to provide assurance that the contractor performs the work called for in the contract for FPS and develops a clear record of accountability for performance. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm whether the agency has taken action in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Education The Secretary of Education should direct the Chief Operating Officer of FSA to establish a process to validate the contractor performance reports it receives. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm whether the agency has taken action in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Education The Secretary of Education should direct the Chief Operating Officer of FSA to establish a process to ensure that assessments of contractor performance are documented in accordance with departmental guidance. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm whether the agency has taken action in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Education The Secretary of Education should direct the Chief Operating Officer of FSA to take steps to ensure that all personnel performing program and project management activities and functions for the FPS contract obtain the appropriate FAC certifications. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm whether the agency has taken action in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Education The Secretary of Education should direct the Chief Operating Officer of FSA to take steps to establish a process to ensure that all personnel performing contract oversight roles and responsibilities are provided with training related to the project management framework of the contract they are overseeing prior to contract execution. (Recommendation 5)
Open
When we confirm whether the agency has taken action in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Education The Secretary of Education should direct the Chief Operating Officer of FSA to develop a standard or update its existing standard to include test case criteria for testing the FPS system that align with leading practices. (Recommendation 6)
Open
When we confirm whether the agency has taken action in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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